Press release

Mon, Jul 1st 2013 11:45 am

Andrej Sekera traded to Carolina
for McBain and a second-round pick

The
Buffalo Sabres selected a league-high 11 prospects, including seven forwards,
three defensemen and a goaltender, at the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, which was held
Sunday at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Buffalo also traded defenseman
Andrej Sekera to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for defenseman Jamie
McBain and a second-round pick (35th overall) in this year's draft.

With the additional pick acquired from Carolina, the Sabres selected five
players - two in the first round and three in the second round - in the first
two rounds, the most of any team in the NHL.

McBain
(age 25, 6'2", 200 lbs.) comes to Buffalo after playing with Carolina for four seasons,
appearing in 206 games and recording 75 points (19 goals, 56 assists) and 48
penalty minutes. The Edina, Minn., native was originally drafted by the
Hurricanes in the second round (63rd overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry
Draft.

With
their two picks in the first round of the draft, the Sabres selected two
defensemen, Rasmus Ristolainen and Nikita Zadorov. Ristolainen(age 18, 6'4",
207 lbs.) was selected with the eighth overall pick, the team's highest
first-round selection since 2003. In 2012-13, Ristolainen played for TPS in his
native Finland, recording 15 points (3/12) and 32 penalty minutes in 52 games
played. He was also a member of Team Finland at the 2013 IIHF World Junior
Championship.

Zadorov (age
18, 6'5", 221 lbs.), selected with the 16th overall pick, played
with the OHL-champion London Knights in 2012-13. The Moscow, Russia native
played in 63 games for the Knights, tallying 25 points (6/19) and 54 penalty
minutes, and led all rookies with a plus-33 rating.

In
the second round, Buffalo used its three picks to select three forwards. At the
35th overall spot, the Sabres chose left wing J.T. Compher from the
U-18 U.S. National Team Development Program of the USHL. Compher (age 18,
5'10", 184 lbs.) played in 49 games as captain of the U-18 USNTDP team in 2012-13,
notching 42 points (15/27), including a team-leading 27 assists. Compher will
play at the University of Michigan this fall.

Three
picks later, at the 38th overall spot, the Sabres selected center
Connor Hurley, from Edina (Minn.) High School. Hurley (age 17, 6'1", 174 lbs.),
an Eagan, Minn., native, also played in 20 games in the USHL last season, with
the U-18 USNTDP and the Muskegon Lumberjacks, tallying 11 total points (2/9).
He registered 43 points (15/28) in 25 games with Edina, leading the team in
assists and points on the way to a state championship.

The
Sabres' third selection in the second round of the draft, at 52nd
overall, was Buffalo native Justin Bailey. Bailey (age 18, 6'3", 186 lbs.), who
plays right wing, spent the 2012-13 season with the Kitchener Rangers of the
OHL. With the Rangers, Bailey played in 57 games and tallied 36 points (17/19),
finishing second among OHL rookies - behind only Zadorov - with a plus-22
rating.

Buffalo
selected another OHL forward with its lone third-round selection, choosing
Sudbury Wolves right wing Nicholas Baptiste at 69th overall. In his
second season for Sudbury, Baptiste (age 17, 6'0, 189 lbs.) tallied 48
regular-season points (21/27) in 2012-13 and tied for the team lead with three
goals and a plus-1 rating in nine playoff games.

The
Sabres used the first of their three fifth-round picks to select goaltender Cal
Petersen of the Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL) at 129th overall.
Petersen (age 18, 6'2", 183 lbs.) backstopped the Black Hawks to a 21-11 record
in 35 games, recording a 2.97 goals against average and a .906 save percentage,
and earning a spot on the USHL All-Rookie Team.

With
the very next pick in the draft, the Sabres selected Swedish forward Gustav
Possler 130th overall. Possler (age 18, 6'0", 183 lbs.) recorded 40
points (19/21) in 36 regular-season games for MODO Jr. in 2012-13, including a
team-leading 19 goals. He added a team-high eight points (4/4) in seven playoff
games.

Buffalo
picked up its third defenseman of the draft 143rd overall, selecting
Anthony Florentino of South Kent (Conn.) School. Florentino (age 18, 6'1", 227
lbs.) notched 53 points (21/32) in 62 games for South Kent in 2012-13 and will
attend Providence College this fall.

The
Sabres selected another Buffalo native in the sixth round, choosing center Sean
Malone at 159th overall. Malone (age 17, 5'11", 183 lbs.) registered
27 points in (13/14) in 44 USHL games for the U-18 USNTDP team in 2012-13.

Buffalo
rounded out the draft by selecting center Eric Locke in the seventh round (189th
overall). Locke (age 19, 5'10", 184 lbs.) recorded 97 points (44/53) in 68
games for the Saginaw Spirit in his third OHL season in 2012-13, ranking third
among all OHL players in points and tying for fourth in goals.